EFA official relations with WHO Europe
As a non-state actor in official relations with WHO Europe, EFA participated in the 72st World Health Organisation Regional Committee for Europe in September in Tel-Aviv, where we presented our latest publications around digital health (DIG_IT project) and the burden of atopic eczema (Atopic Eczema Consensus Europe project), which was the focus of our written statemen to the Committee. EFA also co-signed two joint statements on the Regional Digital Health Action Plan and on the Strengthening health emergency preparedness, response and resilience. Throughout the year, EFA participated in discussions about WHO Europe plans, such as immunisation.
EFA’s contribution to the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance
EFA engaged actively with the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance, a network of EU-level health stakeholders that ran a 2021 a successful campaign to reinstate the Operating Grants in the EU health budget. In 2022, while the European Parliament reinforced the EU4Health programme, the CSA addressed the European Commission with concerns on the strict criteria to be met to access EU funding and issued recommendations for meaningful engagement of health civil society in EU policymaking.
Disease prevention
2022 was a pivotal year for non-communicable diseases (NCD), as the European Commission launched the Healthier Together – EU NCD Initiative, the first EU-driven proposal in a decade aimed to address the NCD epidemic in the EU, focusing on five main strands: cardiovascular, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health and neurological disorders, and health determinants (cross-cutting strand).
The strands are the result of a six-month long consultation with Member States and stakeholders. EFA participated in the process bringing the voice of allergy and airways disease patients to the priorities of the initiative. As a result of EFA’s engagement, the scope of the chronic respiratory disease strand was refined to cover risk factors such as allergy and environmental determinants.